Providing an Announcement for a Multiparty Communication Session

ABSTRACT

Providing an announcement for a multiparty communication session involves establishing a communication session between at least two endpoints. A request to add an added endpoint to the communication session is received. A procedure to provide an announcement to the endpoints of the communication session is initiated. The announcement is played in response to determining a status of a media path of the added endpoint, and is provided from a rendering of a participant identifier associated with the added endpoint.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications andmore specifically to providing an announcement for a multipartycommunication session.

BACKGROUND

A communication session among endpoints may involve a conference bridge.Each endpoint sends a stream of information to the conference bridge.The conference bridge mixes the streams and transmits the mixed streamsback to the endpoints to distribute the information.

The endpoints participating in the communication session may beidentified to the other endpoints of the session. Known techniques foridentifying the endpoints include announcing identifiers of the users ofthe endpoints. These known techniques, however, are not satisfactory incertain situations. It is generally desirable to have satisfactorytechniques in certain situations.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with the present invention, disadvantages and problemsassociated with previous techniques for providing an announcement for amultiparty communication session may be reduced or eliminated.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, providing anannouncement for a multiparty communication session involvesestablishing a communication session between at least two endpoints. Arequest to add an added endpoint to the communication session isreceived. A procedure to provide an announcement to the endpoints of thecommunication session is initiated. The announcement is played inresponse to determining a status of a media path of the added endpoint,and is provided from a rendering of a participant identifier associatedwith the added endpoint.

Certain embodiments of the invention may provide one or more technicaladvantages. A technical advantage of one embodiment may be that anidentifier of an endpoint that is added to an already establishedcommunication session may be announced to the other endpoints of thecommunication session. The request to add the endpoint may be made afterthe communication session has been established.

Another technical advantage of one embodiment may be that theannouncement may be provided in a system with a conference controllerlocated at any suitable device. For example, the conference controllermay be located at the endpoint or at a call agent. Another technicaladvantage of one embodiment may be that the announcer may be provided byany suitable device. For example, the announcement may be provided bythe endpoint, a mixer, or a call agent.

Certain embodiments of the invention may include none, some, or all ofthe above technical advantages. One or more other technical advantagesmay be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the figures,descriptions, and claims included herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsfeatures and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system forproviding an announcement for a multiparty communication session;

FIGS. 2 through 4 are block diagrams illustrating examples of systemsthat may be used to perform the operations of the system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of providing anannouncement for a multiparty communication session.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention and its advantages are bestunderstood by referring to FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, likenumerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the variousdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 10 forproviding an announcement for a multiparty communication session. System10 may announce the identifier of an endpoint 20 that is added to analready established communication session. The request to add endpoint20 may be made after the communication session has been established.

According to one embodiment, system 10 operates to provide services,such as multiparty communication sessions, to endpoints 20. Acommunication session may refer to an active communication betweenendpoints 20, measured from endpoint 20 to endpoint 20. A multipartycommunication session may refer to a communication session that involvestwo or more endpoints 20, for example, a conference call that involvesmore than two endpoints 20. A participant in a communication session mayrefer to an endpoint 20 participating in the session, a user of endpoint20, or a combination of endpoint 20 and the user.

A multiparty communication session may be prescheduled or ad hoc. In aprescheduled multiparty communication session, session resources arereserved prior to establishing the communication session. Participantsare invited to dial into the communication session. In an ad hocmultiparty communication session, an added endpoint 20 is requested tobe added to a communication session after the communication session hasbeen established between at least two endpoints 20. Typically, aninitiator endpoint 20 place a call to added endpoint 20 and indicatesthat added endpoint 20 should be bridged into the communication session.

During a communication session, information may be communicated as astream. A stream may refer to a flow of information organized inpackets. Information may refer to voice, data, text, audio, video,multimedia, control, signaling, other information, or any combination ofthe preceding. A packet may comprise a bundle of data organized in aspecific way for transmission, and a frame may comprise the payload ofone or more packets organized in a specific way for transmission. Apacket-based communication protocol such as Internet Protocol (IP) maybe used to communicate the packets.

System 10 may utilize communication protocols and technologies toprovide the communication sessions. Example communication protocols andtechnologies include those set by the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.xx standards such as 802.11 and802.16 standards, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T)standards, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)standards, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards, orother standards.

System 10 includes components such as devices. In general, a device mayinclude any suitable arrangement of components operable to perform theoperations of the device, and may comprise logic such as hardware,software, other logic, or any suitable combination of the preceding.“Logic” may refer to hardware, software, other logic, or any suitablecombination of the preceding. Certain logic may manage the operation ofa device, and may comprise, for example, a processor. “Processor” mayrefer to any suitable device operable to execute instructions andmanipulate data to perform operations.

“Interface” may refer to logic of a device operable to receive input forthe device, send output from the device, perform suitable processing ofthe input or output or both, or any combination of the preceding, andmay comprise one or more ports, conversion software, or both. “Memory”may refer to logic operable to store and facilitate retrieval ofinformation, and may comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), Read OnlyMemory (ROM), a magnetic drive, a disk drive, a Compact Disk (CD) drive,a Digital Video Disk (DVD) drive, removable media storage, any othersuitable data storage medium, or a combination of any of the preceding.

According to the illustrated embodiment, system 10 includes endpoints20, a conference controller 24, an announcer 28, a repository 32, and anetwork 36 coupled as shown. According to one example of operation,endpoint A calls endpoint B, and then endpoint A adds endpoint C.Conference controller 24 manages the setup of the multipartycommunication session. A rendering of an identifier of the participantassociated with endpoint C is retrieved from repository 32. Announcer 28provide an announcement using the rendering.

Endpoint 20 represents any suitable device operable to communicate witha communication system. Endpoint 20 may comprise, for example, apersonal digital assistant, a computer such as a laptop, a cellulartelephone, a mobile handset, or any other device operable to communicatewith system 10.

A participant corresponding to endpoint 20 may refer to endpoint 20itself operating as a participant, the user of endpoint 20, or acombination of endpoint. 20 and the user. A participant may beidentified based on any suitable identifier such as an endpointidentifier or a user identifier. An endpoint identifier identifies anendpoint 20, and may comprise, for example, a telephone number, anInternet Protocol (IP) address, other suitable identifier, or anycombination of the preceding. A user identifier identifies a user, andmay comprise, for example, a user name.

One or more packets of a stream from endpoint 20 may include aparticipant identifier of endpoint 20. For example, packets fromendpoint 20 may include the IP address of endpoint 20. According to oneembodiment, the participant identifier included in the stream may beused for an announcement. For example, a telephone number may be used.According to another embodiment, the participant identifier used in theannouncement may be derived from the participant identifier in thestream. For example, a name used in the announcement may be derived froman IP address in the stream.

Conference controller 24 manages multiparty communication sessionsbetween endpoints 20. Conference controller 24 may comprise a conferencemanager application that operates as a controller and a rendezvous pointfor multiparty communication sessions. The application manages theinsertion of calls into a multiparty communication session andtermination of calls from the multiparty communication session.Conference and scheduling resources such as conference bridges may beallocated by the application.

Conference controller 24 may perform other suitable operations. As anexample, conference controller 24 may receive requests to speak andgrant permission to speak. If multiple requests are received, conferencecontroller may decide the one or more requests that may be granted. Thedecision may be based on a conference policy, for example, a first-come,first-serve policy, a round robin policy, a priority-based policy, orany other suitable policy. As another example, conference controller 24may determine the capabilities, locations, and regions of endpoints 20.

Conference controller 24 may be provided at any suitable device. Exampledevices are described in association with FIGS. 2 through 4.

Announcer 28 announces participant identifiers associated with endpoints20 added to a communication session. According to one embodiment,announcer 28 retrieves a rendering of the participant identifier fromrepository 32, and provides the announcement using the rendering.Announcer 28 may be provided at any suitable device. Example devices aredescribed in association with FIGS. 2 through 4.

Repository 32 stores renderings of participant identifiers. A renderingof a participant identifier may refer to an embodiment of the identifierthat allows announcer 28 to announce the participant identifier. As anexample, a rendering may include an audio, textual, video, or otherrendering of an identifier.

A rendering may be generated at any suitable manner at any suitabletime. As an example, a rendering may comprise an audio recording of theparticipant identifier recorded prior to or during the communicationsession. An audio rendering may be made available through the VoiceProfile for Internet Mail (VPIM) protocol. As another example, an audiorendering may be generated from a textual rendering using atext-to-speech engine. The textual rendering of a participant identifiermay comprise any suitable characters, for example, numbers or letters.The text-to-speech engine may reside in any suitable location, forexample, at endpoint 20 or call agent or in a separate device availableto endpoint 20 or call agent 54.

Repository 32 may be provided at any suitable device. Example devicesare described in association with FIGS. 2 through 4.

Network 36 represents a communication network that allows devices suchas endpoint 20 to communicate with other devices. A communicationnetwork may comprise all or a portion of a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), a public or private data network, a local area network(LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), alocal, regional, or global communication or computer network such as theInternet, a wireline or wireless network, an enterprise intranet, othersuitable communication link, or any combination of the preceding. As anexample, system 10 may be incorporated with traditional or voice over IP(VoIP) private branch exchanges (PBXs).

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system 10 withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. The components of system 10may be integrated or separated according to particular needs. Moreover,the operations of system 10 may be performed by more, fewer, or othermodules. Additionally, operations of system 10 may be performed usingany suitable logic. As used in this document, “each” refers to eachmember of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

FIGS. 2 through 4 are block diagrams illustrating examples of systems 50that may be used to perform the operations of system 10. According tothe illustrated examples, each system 50 include endpoints 20, a callagent 54, and a mixer 58. According to one example of operation,endpoint A calls endpoint B, and then endpoint A adds endpoint C.

Call agent 54 manages signaling for communication sessions. As anexample, call agent 54 may manage call signaling and media controlsignaling. According to one embodiment, call agent 54 facilitates acommunication session between endpoints A and B. Call agent 54 receivesa conference request from endpoint A to add endpoint C to thecommunication session. Call agent 54 sends an invitation to thecommunication session to endpoint C. If endpoint C can accept the call,endpoint C sends an acceptance to call agent 54. When the call isanswered at endpoint C, call agent 54 instructs endpoints A, B, and C tosend streams to mixer 58, and tells mixer 58 to expect the streams.

Mixer 58 manages media exchange between endpoints 20. Mixer 58 receivesstreams from endpoints 20, mixes the streams to form mixed streams, andsends the mixed streams to endpoints 20. Mixer 58 may include summers orother suitable signal processing resources each operable to sum, add, orotherwise combine input streams into mixed streams. Mixer 58 may alsoinclude input and output transcoders. An input transcoder receives astream from endpoint 20 and transcodes the stream from a compressedformat of endpoint 20 to an uncompressed format of mixer 58 forprocessing in mixer 58. An output transcoder receives mixed streams inan uncompressed format and transcodes the conference output streams intoa compressed format of endpoint 20.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system 50 a thatmay perform the operations of system 10 of FIG. 1. According to theexample, system 50 a includes endpoints 20 a, a call agent 54 a, and amixer 58 a coupled as shown. According to the example, call agent 54 aincludes conference controller 24.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system 50 b thatmay perform the operations of system of FIG. 1. According to theexample, system 50 b includes endpoints 20 b, a call agent 54 b, and amixer 58 b coupled as shown. According to the example, an endpoint Aincludes conference controller 24 b.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system 50 c thatmay perform the operations of system 10 of FIG. 1. According to theexample, system 50 c includes endpoints 20 c, a call agent 54 c, and amixer 58 c coupled as shown. According to the example, endpoint Aincludes conference creator 24 c and mixer 58 c.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, repository 32 may be located at anysuitable device. According to a first embodiment, repository 32 may belocated at endpoint 20. A rendering may be stored in an endpoint-basedprofile or in objects created when a communication session isestablished. According to a second embodiment, repository 32 may belocated at call agent 54. A rendering may be stored in objects createdat call agent 54 when a communication session is established. Accordingto a third embodiment, repository 32 may be located in a database or afile server. The database may comprise a call agent database for storingendpoint information. The file server may comprise a call agent fileserver or a voicemail file server.

Announcer 28 may retrieve a rendering from repository 32 in any suitablemanner. According to one embodiment, announcer 28 may play a storedrendering. As a first example, announcer 28 may retrieve a speech filestored with announcer 28, and then play the speech file. As a secondexample, announcer 28 may retrieve a speech file from a file serverbased on a participant identifier, and then play the speech file.

According to another embodiment, announcer 28 may utilize atext-to-speech operation. As a first example, announcer 28 may call atext-to-speech function to translate a textual rendering to an audiorendering, and then play the audio rendering. As a second example,announcer 28 may provide an identifier to a text-to-speech server, whichprovides an audio file based on the identifier. Announcer 28 plays theaudio file.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, any suitable device may operate asannouncer 28. According to a first embodiment, added endpoint C mayoperate as an announcer 28. In the first embodiment, endpoint C receivesan instruction from conference controller 24 to send a stream to mixer58 and then play an announcement to conference controller 24. Ifconference controller 24 does not receive an announcement, thenconference controller 24 may infer that a valid media path has not beenestablished.

According to a second embodiment, mixer 58 may operate as announcer 28.In the second embodiment, mixer 58 plays the announcement of therendering for endpoint C. Mixer 58 may directly or indirectly determinewhether there is a valid media path using a valid media path indication.A valid media path indication may comprise, for example, a media packet,a silence RTP packet, or a signal notification from a device indicatingthat endpoint C has a valid media path.

In certain situations, mixer 58 may directly determine that there is avalid media path when mixer 58 receives packets from endpoint C. Forexample, a valid media path may be established if packets, such as mediapackets or silence packets, are received. A silence packet may be usedto ensure that a firewall keeps the path open for an endpoint.

In other situations, however, mixer 58 may not be able to directlydetermine whether there is a valid path. For example, a silencesuppression function may be enabled such that no packets are sent ifthere is no audio activity from endpoint 20. In this situation, mixer 58may indirectly determine that a valid media path has been establishedfrom a signal notification from a device indicating that endpoint C hasa valid media path.

According to a third embodiment, conference creator endpoint A mayoperate as announcer 28. Endpoint A may be able to directly orindirectly determine if the media path for endpoint C is valid asdescribed previously.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of providing anannouncement for a multiparty communication session. The method may beused with any suitable systems 50 operable to perform the operations ofsystem 10. For example, the method may be used with example systems 50of FIGS. 2 through 4 operable to perform the operations of system 10 ofFIG. 1.

The method begins at step 110, where a communication session isestablished between endpoints A and B. Endpoint C may be added to thecommunication session. Conference creator endpoint A initializesaddition of endpoint C at step 114. Any suitable device may operate asan announcer 28 at step 118. As an example, added endpoint C, mixer 50,or conference controller 24 may operate as an announcer 28.

If added endpoint C is operating as announcer 28 at step 118, the methodproceeds to step 122. Endpoint C may operate as announcer 28 at step 122in any suitable manner. As a first example, in system 50 a of FIG. 2,call controller 24 a located at call agent 54 a may instruct endpoints Band C to provide announcements after connecting to mixer 58 a. Anendpoint 20 may provide the announcements by placing a rendering in themedia path. The instructions may tell endpoint 20 to provideannouncements in any suitable manner, for example, sequentially.

As a second example, in system 50 b of FIG. 3, conference controller 24b located at endpoint A may instruct endpoints B and C to provideannouncements after connecting to mixer 58 a. The instructions may beembedded in messages that refer endpoints B and C to mixer 58 b.Conference controller 24 b may organize the instructions to control theorder in which the announcements are provided. The method then proceedsto step 134.

If mixer 58 is operating as announcer 28 at step 118, the methodproceeds to step 126. Mixer 58 may provide the announcement at step 126in any suitable manner. As an example, conference controller 24 mayinstruct mixer 58 to provide the announcement. The announcement may beprovided in response to directly or indirectly determining that a validmedia path for endpoint C has been established. The method then proceedsto step 134.

If conference initiator A is operating as announcer 28 at step 118, themethod proceeds to step 130. Conference initiator A may provide theannouncement at step 130 in any suitable manner. The announcement may beprovided in response to directly or indirectly determining that a validmedia path for endpoint C has been established. The method then proceedsto step 134.

Announcer 28 obtains a rendering of a participant identifier forendpoint C at step 134. The rendering allows announcer 28 to announcethe participant identifier. The rendering may be obtained in anysuitable manner, for example, a static or dynamic manner. If therendering is to be obtained in a static manner, the method proceeds tostep 138, where announcer 28 retrieves the rendering from repository 32.Repository 32 may be located at endpoint 20 or conference controller 24.The method then proceeds to step 146.

If the rendering is to be obtained in a dynamic manner at step 134, themethod proceeds to step 142, where the rendering is dynamicallygenerated. The rendering may be dynamically generated in any suitablemanner. For example, announcer 28 may utilize a text-to-speech operationto dynamically generate the rendering. The method then proceeds to step146.

The announcement is played at step 146. The announcement may identifyendpoint C added to the multiparty communication session. After playingthe announcement, the method terminates.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. The method may include more,fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in anysuitable order without departing from the scope of the invention.

Certain embodiments of the invention may provide one or more technicaladvantages. A technical advantage of one embodiment may be that anidentifier of an endpoint that is added to an already establishedcommunication session may be announced to the other endpoints of thecommunication session. The request to add the endpoint may be made afterthe communication session has been established.

Another technical advantage of one embodiment may be that theannouncement may be provided in a system with a conference controllerlocated at any suitable device. For example, the conference controllermay be located at the endpoint or at a call agent. Another technicaladvantage of one embodiment may be that the announcer may be provided byany suitable device. For example, the announcement may be provided bythe endpoint, a mixer, or a call agent.

While this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodimentsand generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of theembodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does notconstrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterationsare also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of thisdisclosure, as defined by the following claims.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. A method for announcing a joined party in amultiparty communication session, comprising: establishing, by aconference controller, a communication session between at least a firstendpoint and a second endpoint; receiving, by the conference controller,a request to add a third endpoint to the communication session;determining that a media path for the third endpoint is valid; andinitiating, by the conference controller, a procedure to have the thirdendpoint to retrieve an audio rendering of the participant identifierand provide an audio announcement announcing a participant identifier ofthe third endpoint to the at least first and second endpoints of thecommunication session in response to determining that the media path ofthe third endpoint is valid, the announcement provided from the audiorendering of the participant identifier associated with the thirdendpoint.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the media path for theadded endpoint is determined to be valid according to a valid media pathindicator.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein initiating a procedure toprovide the announcement to the at least first and second endpoints ofthe communication session further comprises: instructing the thirdendpoint to provide the announcement after sending a stream over themedia path.
 28. The method of claim 25, further comprising: establishingan identifier from the request; and obtaining the rendering of theannouncement from a repository in accordance with the identifier. 29.The method of claim 25, further comprising: establishing an identifierfrom the request; and generating the rendering in accordance with theidentifier.
 30. The method of claim 25, further comprising: establishingan identifier from the request; and deriving the participant identifierfrom the established identifier.
 31. A system for providing anannouncement for a multiparty communication session, comprising: aninterface operable to communicate with at least a plurality ofendpoints; and one or more first processors operable to: establish acommunication session between at least a first endpoint and a secondendpoint; receive a request to add a third endpoint to the communicationsession; determine that a media path for the third endpoint is validaccording to a valid media path indicator; and initiate a procedure tohave the third endpoint retrieve an audio rendering of the participantidentifier and provide an audio announcement announcing a participantidentifier of the third endpoint to the at least first and secondendpoints of the communication session in response to determining thatthe media path of the third endpoint is valid, the announcement providedfrom the audio rendering of the participant identifier associated withthe third endpoint.
 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising oneor more second processors operable to: determine that the media path forthe added endpoint is valid according to a valid media path indicator.33. The system of claim 31, the one or more first processors furtheroperable to initiate a procedure to provide the announcement to thefirst and second endpoints of the communication session by: instructingthe third endpoint to provide the announcement after sending a streamover the media path.
 34. The system of claim 31, further comprising oneor more second processors operable to: establish an identifier from therequest; and obtain the rendering of the announcement from a repositoryin accordance with the identifier.
 35. The system of claim 31, furthercomprising one or more second processors operable to: establish anidentifier from the request; and generate the rendering in accordancewith the identifier.
 36. The system of claim 31, further comprising oneor more second processors operable to: establish an identifier from therequest; and derive the participant identifier from the establishedidentifier.
 37. The system of claim 31, the one or more first processorsfurther operable to: initiate a procedure to provide the announcement tothe first and second endpoints of the communication session by:determining that the media path for the added endpoint is validaccording to a valid media path indicator; and instructing the thirdendpoint to provide the announcement after sending a stream over themedia path.
 38. The system of claim 31, further comprising one or moresecond processors operable to: establish an identifier from the request;and obtain the rendering of the announcement from a memory in accordancewith the identifier; generate the rendering in accordance with theidentifier; and derive the participant identifier from the identifier.39. A system for providing an announcement for a multipartycommunication session, comprising: a conference controller operable to:establish a communication session between at least a first endpoint anda second endpoint; receive a request to add a third endpoint to thecommunication session; determine that a media path for the thirdendpoint is valid according to a valid media path indicator; andinitiate a procedure to have the third endpoint retrieve an audiorendering of the participant identifier and provide an audioannouncement announcing the participant identifier of the added endpointto the endpoints of the communication session in response to determiningthat the media path of the third endpoint is valid, the announcementprovided from the audio rendering of the participant identifierassociated with the third endpoint.
 40. The system of claim 39, theconference controller further operable to: determine that the media pathfor the third endpoint is valid according to a valid media pathindicator.
 41. The system of claim 39, the conference controller furtheroperable to initiate a procedure to provide the announcement to thefirst and second endpoints of the communication session by: instructingthe third endpoint to provide the announcement after sending a streamover the media path.
 42. The system of claim 39, the conferencecontroller further operable to: establish an identifier from therequest; and obtain the rendering of the announcement from a repositoryin accordance with the identifier.
 43. The system of claim 39, theconference controller further operable to: establish an identifier fromthe request; and generate the rendering in accordance with theidentifier.
 44. The system of claim 40, the conference controllerfurther operable to: establish an identifier from the request; andderive the participant identifier from the established identifier. 45.The system of claim 40, wherein: the conference controller is furtheroperable to initiate a procedure to provide the announcement to theendpoints of the communication session by: instructing the thirdendpoint to provide the announcement after sending a stream over themedia path; and the conference controller is further operable to:determine that the media path for the third endpoint is valid accordingto a valid media path indicator; establish an identifier from therequest; obtain the rendering of the announcement from a memory inaccordance with the identifier; generate the rendering in accordancewith the identifier; and derive the participant identifier from theidentifier.
 46. A system for providing an announcement for a multipartycommunication session, comprising: means for establishing, by one ormore first processors, a communication session between at least a firstendpoint and a second endpoint; means for receiving, by the one or morefirst processors, a request to add a third endpoint to the communicationsession; means for determining, by the one or more first processors,that a media path for the third endpoint is valid according to a validmedia path indicator; and means for initiating, by the one or more firstprocessors, a procedure to have the third endpoint retrieve an audiorendering of the participant identifier and provide an audioannouncement announcing the participant identifier of the third endpointto the first and second endpoints of the communication session inresponse to determining that the media path of the third endpoint isvalid, the announcement provided from the audio rendering of theparticipant identifier associated with the third endpoint.